Clutch mechanism



Jan. 28, 1936. oTTs 2,028,876

CLUTCH MECHANISM Filed Nov. 16, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l llllillllllll I\,i2

Jan. 28, 1936. -r5

' CLUTCH MECHANISM Filed NOV. 16, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a/ Patented Jan.28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 18 Claims.

This invention relates to a clutch mechanism and more particularly tosuch mechanism as will lock together driving and driven parts forrotation together in either direction, or permit free wheeling whendesired.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved clutchmechanism for use in any connection desired, as automobiles or othermechanism, whereby the drivingand driven parts may rotation together ineither direcbe locked for tion, or for free wheeling as desired.

A further object is to provide such clutch mechanism as to bepractically free from wear caused by the driving rollers.

A further object is to provide such device that the outer shell cannotbe distorted, but has a uniform radial thrust.

Another object is such an arrangement that the non-circular rollers areconstantly changing their location over both the inner and outer racewaysurfaces whereby they do not form local deressions, and hence result incontinuous, positive and reliable action.

A still further object is to provide a clutch mechanism in which theparts may be set for free wheeling at high speeds as well as low withoutclashing of parts.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities will hereinafter more fullyappear.

My invention further resides in the combination, construction andarrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and whileI have shown therein preferred embodiments I wish the same to beunderstood as illustrative only and not as limiting the scope of myinvention.

In the drawings:--

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a portion of an automobileengine and associated gear housing, the latter being partly in sectionto show my improved clutch mechanism therein.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the clutch mechanism of the presentinvention and showing the parts in position for use with a conventionalclutch, whereby the driving part may drive the driven part in eitherdirection of rotation.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through Fig. 2, butshowing the inner raceway in elevation. i

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 ofFig. 3, showing the parts inposition for use with a conventional clutch.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to 2, but showing thev parts inposition for free wheeling.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the wedging rollers adapted forwedging action in one direction only.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another one of the wedging rollersadapted for wedging action 5 in either direction.

Fig. 8 is a plan view partly in section of a ratchet wrench having myinvention applied thereto.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8, but with aportion of the two hexagonal lateral projections in elevation.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a socket wrench adapted to be appliedto one or the other of the lateral projections of the wrench.

Fig. 11 is a perspective detail of one of the rollers of the ratchetwrench of Figs. 8 and 9.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the internal combustion engineI of an automobile, or the like, is provided with the usual clutchcasing 2, transmission gear casing 3, drive shaft 4 and gear shiftinglever 5. Between the drive shaft 4 and the driven shaft 6 is located myimproved clutch mechanism 1, shown more in detail in Figs. 2-7.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3 the drive shaft 4 has fixedthereto by pin 8, or the like, the inner raceway member 9. Formedintegral therewith or otherwise fixed to the driven shaft 6 is the outerraceway member ID. The

exterior surface of the inner raceway member 9, and the interior annularsurface of the outer raceway member ID, are cylindrical and spaced aparta distance to accommodate the roller bearing members H and thenon-circular wedging members l2. The roller bearing members H are ofsuch diameter as to just nicely fill the space between the members 9 andI0, so that a smooth roller bearing is provided for these parts withoutundue looseness. The non-circular members l2, which are in efiectflattened on one side, are at their smallest diameter a little less indiameter than the roller bearings H, but at their largest diameterexceed the diameter of roller bearings ll. In other words, the shortestdiameter of the non-circular members I2 is a little less than theannular space between members 9 and I0, while the larger diameter isgreater than the distance between elements 9 and l 0 across the annularspace. The so-called flattened portions 5 of members l2 are, as will beobvious, not concentric with the remaining portions of the circumferenceof these members, hence when any of these members l2 are slightlyrotated on their axis they immediately are forced into wedging actionwith the inner surface of member ID. This wedging movement causes abinding action and fastens members 9 and III for rotation together whenthis wedging action oecurs. I On the other hand, however, when membersI2 are rotated to bring the smallest diameter to extend across theannular space between members 9 and I this wedging or binding actiondoes not occur, and members 9 and II) are then free to rotate relativelyto each other. This is one of the important features of this invention.

As shown in Figs. and '7, each flattened memher I 2 is provided with akerf l3 extending a substantial distance into one end. In everyalternate flattened member I2, which for clearness will be designated y,a laterally extending rigid member I4 is fixed in the keri l3 to extenda substantiai distance lateraliy to the left of the flattened member I2,as seen in Fig. 6. The free end of member I4 is turned upwardly atapproximately a right or other suitable angle, and its upper edge isformed with two notches l5 and I5. The alternate set of flattenedrollers i2, the individuai ones of which fall in between the onescarrying the members I i, are each provided with lateral members I1 andI8, each of which is one-half the width of member I4. For conveniencethe fiattened members I2 carrying the two lateral members I! and I8 willbe hereafter referred to as m. Member I1 is set inwardly from the end offlattened member I2, and is formed on its flanged end with a groove I9,which when the parts are assembled falls in circumferential alignmentwith notch I5. The lateral member I8 is positioned between member I":and the end of roller I2, and is formed on its flanged end with a notch20, which when the parts are assembled falls in circumferentialalignment with notch 16. Circumferentially extending around the assemblyof rollers is a circular endless coiled spring 2I, which rests ithin theannular groove 22 of the shifting ring 23, whereby this annular coilspring may upon lateral shifting of ring 23, by means of lever I, bemoved from cireumferentially aligned notches lb and 20 intocircumferentially aligned notches I e and I 9, or vice versa, for apurpose to be hereinafter more fully set forth.

Assuming the endless coil spring 2I to be moved by the shifting ring 23into the circumferentially aligned notches I6 and 20, the flattenedrollers a: and y will respectively occupy the positions shown in Figs. 2and 4, with the upper portions of members y slightly rotated to theleft, as seen in Figs. 2 and 4, and the upper portions of members a:slightly rotated to the right. This means that the flattened rollers ywill be moved into such posi-' tion that they will wedge between members,9 and III in such manner that the driving member 9 will drive thedriven member I0 in a. clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4. Alsothe flattened rollers 1: will be brought into a position such that theywill wedge between driving member 9 and driven member I0 when drivingmember 9 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction. This means that inthe position of parts shown in Figs. 2- and 4 the driving member 9 andthe driven member ill will be locked together for rotation togather ineither direction upon operation of the conventional clutch in clutchcasing 2.

When, however, shifting ring 23 is shifted to the right, as viewed inFig. 3, this will carry the annular coil spring 2I into thecircumferentially aligned notches I5 and I9. As both members I4 and I1extend to the left, as vlewedin Figs. 6 and '7, will cause all of theflattened rollers 1 and y to be rotated in the same direction, to-wit,in an anti-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 shows this movement to have taken placethat of the driving member9 this will immedi-' ately relieve the wedging action set up by theflattened rollers :12 and y, and permit the driven memher III to rotatefaster than driving member 9. This is the free wheeling action of myinvention and, as will be readily understood, is caused when the speedof an automobile, or other driven mechanism, exceeds that of. thedriving parts.

From the above it isseen that Figs. 2 and 4 show the rollers in positionto lock the driven wd driving parts together for joint rotation ineither direction, so that the driven part may be driven in eitherdirection by a conventional clutch; while Fig. 5 shows the rollers inposition for free wheeling. As also readily understood from the above,these two positions of parts are effected by moving the shifting member23 to bring the coil spring 2I either into notches I5, I 9

or I6, 20. I

Figs. 8-11 show a modification of this invention as applied to a ratchetwrench, in which the cylindrical rollers II have alternately dispersedbetween them the flattened rollers I2a. These flattened rollers I2a areslightly longer than the cylindrical rollers II, and the former havetheir ends notched as at and 25 (see Fig. 11) within which notches liesa circular spring 26 so formed as to normally press outwardly on theadjacent portion of the shoulder of notches 24 and 25. If all of therollersin this ratchet wrench were cylindrical after the manner ofrollers I nothing would occur upon rotation of handle '21 except a freerotation of the rollers I I in their raceway. Since, however, everyother roiler is a flattened roller I2a, whose minimum diameter is, ashas been pointed out above in connection with the flattened rollerspreviously described, slightly less than the distance between the innermember 9a and the outer member ifla, when the handle 21 is rotated in acounter-ciockwise direction, each of the flattened rollers I'Za will berotated a slight amount in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed inFig. 8, and will at once set up a wedging action between the outermember Illa and the inner member 9a. This counter-clockwise rotation offlattened rollers I2a is assisted by the outward pressure of springs 26upon the adjacent portion of the shoulders of notches 24 and 25. Thisjoint action of the outward pressure of the spring 26, together with therolling action of flattened rollers I2a between members 9a and I ea,insures that the flattened rollers will roll into wedging position whenthe handle is being rotated in a counter-clockwise direction.

When, however, the handle member 21 is rotated a slight distance in aclockwise direction this wedging action is relieved, becauseof thesliding of the outer member Illa over rollers I2a in a directionopposite to that of the wedging action. This will be accompanied by aslight rotation of members In in a elockwise direction, which rotationwill be stopped by springs 26 upon rollers I211. beiore they haverotated far enough 2,028,876 to effect a we-dging action on the otherside.

This creates suflicient distortion in springs 26 to again assistrotation of the flattened rollers I 2a in the opposite direction tocause a wedging action when the handle 21 is again rotated in acounter-clockwise direction. This means that when the wrench handle isrotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8, themembers We will, due to the wedging action referred to, lock the parts9a and la together, and thus rotate the hexagonal (or other shape)projections 21, over the lower of which projections is slipped asuitable socket member 28, which in turn will be placed over a nut forloosening or tightening the latter. When rotation of the nut in theopposite direction is desired the wrench is turned over for use of theopposite lateral projection 27. This gives a ratchet wrench which may beoperated in either direction. Having now described my invention, Iclaim:-

1. A clutch mechanism for connecting a drive shaft and a driven shaft,comprising a driving member, a driven member radially spaced from thedriving member, and rollers in the space between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical, and at least one of said rollers beingnon-circular in cross-section, and means for rotating said non-circularroller in one direction to cause it to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together in one direction and for rotatingsaid non-circular roller in the other direction to cause it to lock saidmembers for rotation together in the opposite direction.

2. A clutch mechanism for connecting a drive shaft and a driven shaft,comprising a driving member, a driven member radially spaced from thedriving member, and rollers in the space between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical, and at least one of said rollers beingnon-circular in cross-section, and means for rotating said'non-circularroller in one direction to cause it to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together in one direction and for rotatingsaid non-circular roller in the other direction to cause it to lock saidmembers for rotation together in the opposite direction, saidnon-circular roller permitting the driven member to rotate faster thanthe driving member.

3. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember and a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, someof said rollers being cylindrical, and some being non-circular incross-section, and means for causing a partial rotation of some of saidnon-circular rollers in one direction and some in the reverse direction.

4. A clutch mechanism of the'class described, comprising a drivingmember and a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, someof said rollers being cylindrical and some being non-circular incross-section, and means for operating in one position to cause apartial rotation of some of said non-circular rollers in one directionand some in the reverse direction, and in another position to cause apartial rotation of all of the non-circular rollers in the samedirection.

5. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember and, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members andcontacting each other, some of said rollers being cylindrical and somenon-circular in cross-section, and resilient means connecting saidnoncircular rollers for causing the driving and driven members to lockfor rotation together in one direction, and to run free when therelative movement of said two members is in the opposite direction.

6. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember and a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, saidrollers being alternately cylindrical and noncircular in cross-sectionand contacting each other, and resilient means for causing the drivingand driven members to lock for rotation together in one direction, andto run free when the relative movement of said two members is in theopposite direction, said means comprising spring means acting upon theends of the noncircular rollers.

7. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, saidrollers contacting each other, some of said rollers being cylindricaland some non-circular in cross-section, and means connecting saidnon-circular rollers for causing partial rotation thereof in onedirection so that the driving and driven members will lock and rotatetogether upon rotation of the driving member in one direction, and runfree upon rotation of the driving member in the opposite direction. I

8. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to fill the space between said members,and some of said rollers being normally'of larger diameter than thecylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side,

and means to partially rotate the cut-away rollers to lock the drivingmember and driven member for rotation together.

9. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to fill the space between said members,and some of said rollers being nor= mally of larger diameter than thecylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side, and means topartially rotate the cut-away rollers to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together, the cut-away rollers being of adiameter slightly less than the cylindrical rollers at the transversecenter of the cut-away portion, and of a diameter greater than thecylindrical rollers at points away from said transverse center.

10. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to fill the space between said members,and some of said rollers being normally of larger diameter than thecylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side, and means topartially rotate the cut-away rollers to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together, said means comprising lateralprojections adjacent one end of the cut-away rollers, and spring meansto cause movement of said lateral projections.

11. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to laterally fill the space between saidmembers, and some of said rollers being normally of larger diameter thanthe cylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side, and means topartially rotate the cut-away rollers to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together, said means comprising lateralprojections on one side of some of said cut-away rollers, and lateralprojections on both sides of some of said cut-away rollers, and spring 75 means to cause movement of said lateral projections.

12. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to laterally fill the space between saidmembers, and some of said rolleirs being normally of larger diameterthan the cylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side, andmeans to partially rotate the cut-away rollers to lock the drivingmember and driven member for rotation together, said means comprisinglateral projections on one side of some of said cut-away rollers, andlateral projections on both sides of some of said cut-away rollers, andspring means to cause movement of said lateral projections, each ofthose cut-away rollers that have lateral projections on both sideshaving the lateral projection on one side nearer the end of the rollerthan the lateral projection on the other side.

13. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to laterally fill the space between saidmembers, and some of said rollers being normally of larger diameter thanthe cylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side, and means topartially rotate the cutaway rollers to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together, said means comprising lateralprojections on one side of some of said cut-away rollers, and lateralprojections on both sides of some of said cut-away rollers, and springmeans to cause movement of said lateral projections, each of thosecut-away rollers that have lateral projections on both sides having thelateral projection on one side nearer the end of the roller than thelateral projection on the other side, each of said lateral projectionshaving an upturned flange provided with one or more notches.

l4. A clutch mechanism of the class described. comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to laterally fill the space between saidmembers, and some of said rollers being normally of larger diameter thanthe cylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side, and means topartially rotate the cutaway rollers to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together, said means comprising lateralprojections on one side of some of said cut-away rollers, and lateralprojections on both sides of some of said cut-away rollers, each ofthose cut-away rollers that have lateral projections on both sideshaving the lat- ,eral projection on one side nearer the end of theroller than the lateral projection on the other side, each of saidlateral projections having an upturned flange provided with one or morenotches, and a circular coil spring seating in the circumferentiallyaligned notches to cause movement of said lateral projections.

15. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember, a driven member, a set of rollers between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical to laterally fill the space between saidmembers, and some of said rollers being normally of larger diameter thanthe cylindrical rollers but partially cut away on one side, and means topartially rotate the cutaway rollers to lock the driving member anddriven member for rotation together, said means comprising lateralprojections on one side .of some of said cut-away rollers, and lateralprojections on both sides of some of said cut-away rollers, each ofthose cut-away rollers that have lateral projections on both sideshaving the lateral projection on one side nearer the end of the rollerthan the lateral projection on the other side, each of said lateralprojections having an upturned flange provided with one or more notches,and a circular coil spring seating in the circumferentially alignednotches to cause movement of said lateral projections, and a shiftingelement for shifting the circular coil spring from one set ofcircumferentially aligned notches to another.-

16. A clutch mechanism for connecting a drive shaft and a driven shaft,comprising a driving member, a driven member radially spaced from thedriving member, and rollers in the space between said members, some ofsaid rollers being cylindrical, and at least one of said rollersbeingnon-circular in cross-section, said non-circular roller having means forlocking said drivingv and driven members together for rotation in eitherdirection.

v, 17. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingmember and a driven memher, a set of rollers between said members, someof said rollers being cylindrical, and some being non-circular incross-section, said non-circular rollers having means for locking saiddriving and driveri members together 'for rotation in either direction.

18. A clutch mechanism of the class described, comprising a cylindricaldriving member whose exterior surface constitutes an inner racewaysurface, a hollow driven member overhanging the driving member andpresenting an annular inner cylindrical surface constituting. an outerraceway surface spaced from the inner raceway surface, rollers in theannular space between said two raceway surfaces, some of said rollersbeing cylindrical and some non-circular in crosssection, saidnon-circular rollers having means for locking together and rotating saiddriving and driven members in either direction.

DELBERT L. LOTTS..

